2022 Road to the Draft – Part 9
March 17, 2022
By Noonefromtampa
What a difference a week makes in the NFL offseason – Washington loses out to the Denver Broncos in the Russell Wilson sweepstakes, but then turns around and trades for Carson Wentz from the Indianapolis Colts. The major impact from the trade is the salary cap hit from assuming all of Wentz’s 2022 salary. The expectation as of this writing is that Landon Collins will be cut and several other players will have their contracts re-worked to free up additional cap space.
Freshness Rating
This week, 50.9% of the mock drafts are one week old or newer and 49.1% are two weeks or older. Trades this week have spurred a bump in new mocks. As free agency starts and the needs of teams change, more mockers will publish updates.
| Age | Age % |
| New | 38.92% |
| 1 Week Old | 11.98% |
| 2 Weeks Old | 8.98% |
| 3+ Weeks Old | 40.12% |
| Grand Total | 100.00% |
Position Distribution
The number of mocks is up 24 this week to 167 overall, up over 16.8% from last week. The trend for Washington, once the Wentz trade was announced, mockers started shifting their picks from quarterback to wide receiver and cornerback. The big winner this week was wide receiver which is up about 7.66%, cornerback was up 3.44% and quarterback was down 6.5%. Two positions were new this week, edge rusher and tight end.
| Position | Picked Count | Picked % | Last Week % | % Change |
| QB | 118 | 70.66% | 77.17% | -6.51% |
| WR | 22 | 13.17% | 5.51% | 7.66% |
| CB | 11 | 6.59% | 3.15% | 3.44% |
| IOL | 5 | 2.99% | 4.72% | -1.73% |
| OT | 4 | 2.40% | 2.36% | 0.03% |
| LB | 3 | 1.80% | 3.94% | -2.14% |
| S | 2 | 1.20% | 3.15% | -1.95% |
| Edge | 1 | 0.60% | 0.00% | 0.60% |
| TE | 1 | 0.60% | 0.00% | 0.60% |
| RB | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| DT | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Grand Total | 167 | 100% |
The players mock picked to Washington at the 11th pick are in descending frequency:
| Player | Position | School | Picked Count | Picked % |
| Kenny Pickett | QB | Pittsburgh | 41 | 24.55% |
| Malik Willis | QB | Liberty | 33 | 19.76% |
| Matt Corral | QB | Mississippi | 21 | 12.57% |
| Sam Howell | QB | North Carolina | 16 | 9.58% |
| Garrett Wilson | WR | Ohio State | 8 | 4.79% |
| Drake London | WR | USC | 7 | 4.19% |
| Derek Stingley Jr | CB | LSU | 6 | 3.59% |
| Desmond Ridder | QB | Cincinnati | 5 | 2.99% |
| Treylon Burks | WR | Arkansas | 4 | 2.40% |
| Chris Olave | WR | Ohio State | 3 | 1.80% |
| Ahmad Gardner | CB | Cincinnati | 3 | 1.80% |
| Devin Lloyd | LB | Utah | 2 | 1.20% |
| Kyle Hamilton | S | Notre Dame | 2 | 1.20% |
| Tyler Linderbaum | IOL | Iowa | 2 | 1.20% |
| Kenyon Green | IOL | Texas A&M | 2 | 1.20% |
| Charles Cross | OT | Mississippi State | 2 | 1.20% |
| Jermaine Johnson | Edge | Florida State | 1 | 0.60% |
| Trey McBride | TE | Colorado State | 1 | 0.60% |
| Ikem Ekwonu | OT | NC State | 1 | 0.60% |
| Nakobe Dean | LB | Georgia | 1 | 0.60% |
| Zion Johnson | IOL | Boston College | 1 | 0.60% |
| David Carr | QB | NFL – LVR | 1 | 0.60% |
| Trent McDuffie | CB | Washington | 1 | 0.60% |
| Trevor Penning | OT | Northern Iowa | 1 | 0.60% |
| Russell Wilson | QB | SEA | 1 | 0.60% |
| Andrew Booth Jr. | CB | Clemson | 1 | 0.60% |
| Grand Total | 167 | 100.00% |
Kenny Pickett and Malik Willis swapped spots this week with Matt Corral still in third place. Garrett Wilson and Drake London moved up in the rankings as mockers shifted from quarterback to wide receiver. Jermaine Johnson and Trey McBride are the two players at the new positions for this week.
Trades
Three new trades this week all involving a trade down with either the Saints or Steelers. Two the trades make pretty good sense trade back and get a wide receiver or offensive lineman who can held immediately. Trading back and taking another quarterback in the first round does not seem very realistic.
| Days Old | Notes | TR-Direct | TR-Pos | TR-Team | Player |
| 1 | Commanders receive Saints 1st (18), 2nd (49), and 5th round picks | Down | 18 | NO | Zion Johnson |
| 2 | Pittsburgh Steelers receive pick 11. Washington Commanders receive picks 20, 52, 2023 third-round pick | Down | 20 | PIT | Chris Olave |
| 5 | Washington Commanders receive picks 18, 49, and 100. New Orleans Saints receive pick 11 | Down | 18 | NO | Sam Howell |
| 12 | WSH (pick 6 overall) CAR (pick 11 overall, 2022 2nd, 2023 2nd) | Up | 6 | CAR | Malik Willis |
| WSH (pick 5 overall) NYG (pick 11, pic 42, 2023 1st) | Up | 5 | NYG | Malik Willis | |
| 13 | Washington Commanders send picks 11 and 42 to the Carolina Panthers for picks 6 and 144 | Up | 6 | CAR | Kenny Pickett |
| 19 | Washington Commanders send 2022 1st round pick, 2023 1st round pick, 2022 2nd round pick for QB Russell Wilson | Player | N/A | SEA | Russell Wilson |
| 31 | Washington receives picks 8 & 217, Atlanta receives picks 11, 75, 228, and 2023 2nd round | Up | 8 | ATL | Kenny Pickett |
| 24 | Washington sends picks 11, 42 to Carolina for pick 6 | Up | 6 | CAR | Malik Willis |
| 21 | Washington sends pick 11 to Las Vegas for David Carr | Player | N/A | LVR | David Carr |
NFL Free Agency starts March 16, 2022
Time until NFL Draft on April 28-30: 6 weeks
Sources: nflmockdraftdatabase.com